Super Friends in Oz by Kevenn T. Smith

I participated in my comic book shop's annual auction to raise money for the Cleveland Food Bank. One person won an exclusive edition of my Super Friends in Oz piece that I created for the auction. The illustration is an homage to the Super Friends episode "The Planet of Oz," where Mr. Mxyzsptlk sends a tornado to transport Superman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman inside of the Hall of Justice to the planet of Oz. Upon arrival, he transforms them into versions of characters from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz book. The three of them have to find their way through many encounters on the planet until they reach "The Wizard" and of course manage to trick Mr. Mxyzsptlk into saying his name backwards, thus forcing him to set everything right.

As an homage, I didn't want to try to create something that looked like an animation cell from the episode. I wanted to inject my own style into it, three-dimensionalize the visuals, and offer more nods to the 1939 MGM musical of The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland. That meant adding a "Dorothy" to the piece, and while Jayna of the Wonder Twins actually did appear in the original episode, I decided to use Wendy Harris, a character who regularly appeared in only the first season of the Super Friends show. I thought that Wendy's color scheme and design would better meld with Dorothy's and look better alongside the other characters in the piece. And while I'm a HUGE fan of the Oz books, the makers of the movie musical were not wrong when they decided that ruby slippers would "pop" more against the Yellow Brick Road compared to silver slippers that were in the book.

Prints of this piece are available directly from me. Fill out the "Contact Me" form at the left of this page to contact me regarding a print and inquire about pricing. 
"Super Friends in Oz" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil & Photoshop
©2022 Kevenn T. Smith 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Finale

I spent a year working on all of these individual designs and the setting for this composite piece. When I was working on it, several times throughout the year of 2021 I wondered if this piece would be obsolete or no longer relevant by the time I finished all the planned entries. Sadly, the answer is that it's more relevant than ever. With the Omicron variant being five times as transmissible as the already more transmissible Delta variant, whether you're vaccinated or not, the best way to help protect yourself and others (after being vaccinated) wearing a mask when having to be near others. Being vaccinated and wearing a mask are the best ways to stop the spread of this virus. I wish this piece was obsolete so that life could get back to the way things were before the pandemic happened.

Prints of this piece are available directly from me. Fill out the "Contact Me" form at the left of this page to contact me regarding a print and inquire about pricing. 

Pictured Left to Right starting at the bottom, Row 1: Black Canary, Huntress, Barda, Isis, Donna Troy, Nubia, Lois Lane, Wonder Woman, Artemis, Vixen, Katana, Batgirl, Zatanna, Mera

Row 2: Ice, Omen, Power Girl, Flamebird, Hawkgirl, Dove, Bumblebee

Row 3: Fire, Dr. Light, Starfire, Catwoman, Batwoman, Raven, Supergirl, Green Lantern

Row 4: Red Tornado

Right-click on the thumbnail below and open it in a new tab to see a larger image size. Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece and this series. I hope it inspires you to wear a mask.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
All characters ©DC Comics

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Red Tornado

This is the 31st and final single entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic. Although statistically not common, it is still possible to transmit and receive the COVID-19 virus even after being fully vaccinated. Masks greatly help to prevent this spread, especially with the new Omicron Variant popping up throughout the world.

Abigail "Ma" Hunkel operated as the Golden Age (first appearing in 1939) hero, Red Tornado, the first hero to bear that name before an android took on the main face of that moniker. Ma Hunkel began fighting crime by beating up racketeers who she refused to pay protection money to for the grocery store that she owned and operated. When the situation escalated by her daughter and daughter's friend being kidnapped and the police chief was unwilling to investigate, she created the heroic identity of the Red Tornado by pulling together a hode-podge costume of red longjohns, boxer shorts, gloves, a blanket cape, and a pot (with two holes in it through which the eyes could see out of) as a helmet. The burly Red Tornado was often mistaken for a man, but allowed Abigail to rescue the children and fight crime in her local neighborhood and stand up to the corrupt Chief of Police. Later, the Red Tornado joined the Justice Society of America and fought alongside other female members such as Wonder Woman, Liberty Belle, and Phantom Lady. She later fought crime alongside her children who called themselves The Cyclone Kids. While not possessing powers, the Red Tornado does have impressive hand-to-hand combat skills and is also a renown cook. Decades later, Ma Hunkel is the only female member of the Justice Society alive and still working with the JSA. She is the caretaker of the JSA headquarters and museums and the only older looking woman in the DC Universe still operating in the superhero community. (Hippolyta doesn't count because she is always rendered to look not-old) Ma Hunkel's granddaughter, Maxine Hunkel, carries on the heroic legacy by working with the JSA as the heroic Cyclone.

For this look, I wanted to incorporate the various colors of the hodgepodge Golden Age Red Tornado costume into an elegant looked that also has the silhouette of a tornado. Her purse is designed to look like a pot, an homage to the pot that she wore over her head. The Red Tornado symbol appears not only on her glittery mask, but also in glass pieces that adorn her earrings and her chest piece.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Red Tornado" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Red Tornado ©DC Comics

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Dove

This is the 30th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic. Although statistically not common, it is still possible to transmit and receive the COVID-19 virus even after being fully vaccinated. Masks greatly help to prevent this spread. This entry is also one of the seven final "deluxe" entries to this series, with only one more planned left to fully create after this one. This entry was originally planned to be the final piece in this series.

Dawn Granger is the second hero to go by the name "Dove." Both were bestowed magical powers by the "Lords of Order," ancient magical beings who work to govern the laws of magic in the Universe from the opposing "Lords of Chaos." Don Hall, the first Dove, died in the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and Dawn (yeah, their names sound alike) was gifted with the magical power of Dove: a danger-sense transformation into her heroic Dove identity, hyper vigilance and discernment, flight, superhuman agility, enhanced durability, quick healing, along with her hand-to-hand combat skills. Dove is partner to the much more aggressive, Hawk, who she works to calm and pacify a lot. I wanted the peace-loving aspect of this character to come through visually with the use of the peace sign gestures, necklace, sandals, and caftan dress. I also am a fan of Minka Kelly's portrayal of the character in the HBO MAX Titans series, and the dark eyes and eyebrows and side-pony of this depiction are a tribute to Kelly's embodiment of the character.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Dove" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Dove ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Omen

This is the 29th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic. Although statistically not common, it is still possible to transmit and receive the COVID-19 virus even after being fully vaccinated. Masks greatly help to prevent this spread. This entry is also one of the seven final "deluxe" entries to this series, with only two more planned left to fully create after this one.

Lilith Clay originally appeared in Teen Titans #25 in 1970. Though not well known to the general public, her character has been around for a long time. In the early 70's she was a psychic go-go dancer whose powers ended up getting her a membership spot on the Teen Titans team as their second female member to Donna Troy's Wonder Girl. The latest DC Rebirth continuity also had Omen as one of the original Teen Titans members, and as Omen, her power range has greatly increased. Not only does she possess psychic, telepathic, telekinetic, and empathic powers, but she also can create psionic blasts and shields and illusions in the minds of others. Lilith has worked with many incarnations of the Titans teams through DC's history, and she's usually brought back into the story when the more popular character of Raven isn't available to use at the time for one reason or another, it seems. However, in a lot of ways, i feel that Omen is more powerful than Raven.

This look is heavily based on Omen's Rebirth costume and its black and green color scheme. Many fans throughout the years have associated Lilith with wearing green, so it was nice to see that reflected in an official Omen costume. The first Omen costume appeared in the late 90's Teen Titan title and was black and red. The silver necklace in this outfit pays homage to the silver necklace from that costume. Stylistically, this costume pays tribute to the many Grace Jones influenced early Lady Gaga looks that incorporated a loose hood and uses well over 400 individually placed beads in its conception.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Omen" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Omen ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Ice

This is the 28th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic. Although statistically not common, it is still possible to transmit and receive the COVID-19 virus even after being fully vaccinated. Masks greatly help to prevent this spread. This entry is also one of the final "deluxe" entries to this series. I have previously said there would only be six deluxe entries, but as I was beginning the final work process on this entry, another idea for an entry hit me, and it felt like the perfect way to end this series, so there are actually three more entries after this one planned.

The character of Tora Olafsdotter first appeared alongside Beatriz Da Costa's Fire in the Justice League International as former members of the Global Guardians who wanted to join the much more high-profile Justice League. The two had been know as Green Flame and Icemaiden (Tora being the second Icemaiden of the Global Guardians), but upon petitioning the Justice League for membership, shortened their names to Fire and Ice. The easiest origin for Ice is that Tora was the princess of a hidden race of ice people who left to see the world, and ended up using her abilities to help others. Because she was raised away from the world, she was often portrayed as wholesome and a bit naive, but always very lovable. Her personality was a fun contrast to Fire's who was libidinous and more hot tempered, and who did not care for the man Ice ended up dating off and on again, the obnoxious Green Lantern named Guy Gardner. Ice's powers of being able to create ice and snow from her hands, including being able to create ice paths that she could slide on, seemed to increase even more after she stopped her murderous brother from becoming king of their people and absorbed the power from his magical staff when it was destroyed. 

She was later killed by a villain called the Overmaster, but comics being comics, she was eventually resurrected with even more power (being able to create blizzards), create more ice and snow, super strength and flight, and was even referred to as a goddess. Since her resurrection, she has still (barring the odd possession by evil entity storyline) been portrayed with her classic gentle and light personality.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.

"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Ice" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Ice ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Fire

This is the 27th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic. Although statistically not common, it is still possible to transmit and receive the COVID-19 virus even after being fully vaccinated. Masks greatly help to prevent this spread. This entry is also one of the final six "deluxe" entries to this series.

The character of Fire is the most well-known adult hero from Brazil in the DC Universe. (I said adult, sorry Yara Flor, Wonder Girl!) Beatriz Da Costa originally debuted in the year 1979 in Superfriends issue #25 as "Green Fury." In the Post-Crisis continuity, she was a model, showgirl, and performer who ended up becoming an agent for a Brazilian intelligence agency. She changed her name to Green Flame and became a member of a superhero group called the Global Guardians, which didn't last long. She convinced her friend, Icemaiden, to shorten her name to Ice, while she went by Fire, and the two ended up becoming members of the Justice League International. Fire and Ice were Justice League members for years on the team with Booster Gold and Blue Beetle, when the Justice League title was a hilarious character-based read. Fire always looked out for her more naive friend, Ice, and grieved her death when Ice was killed. Fortunately, in comics books, people come back from the dead, and eventually Fire & Ice were reunited and periodically get to pal around in humorous adventures with other heroes from their JLI days. Fire has flight powers, the ability to shoot green flame, and can even become a being of green flame.

This look takes it's inspiration from Adam Hughes' depiction of Fire from the Justice League International days, which is her most iconic (and best designed) look.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Fire" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Fire ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Flamebird

This is the 26th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic. At the time of this posting, the Delta Variant is still a serious threat, and many areas in the United States, like the one I live in, are under advisement for everyone to wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status. This entry is also one of the final six "deluxe" entries to this series.

All hail the original Dick Grayson Thirst Queen! The character Betty Kane was created in the 1950's, not long after her aunt, Kathy Kane, to combat those pesky homosexual rumors about Batman and Robin. Kathy Kane's Batwoman wanted to aid the Caped Crusaders, and her niece, Betty, became the original Bat-Girl...in order to get closer to Robin because she had a crush on him. AND NO ONE CAN BLAME HER.

Along came the 1960's and DC Comics had a Batman TV show that made big waves in pop culture, and they decided to introduce a new Batgirl character by the name of Barbara Gordon. Kathy & Betty Kane had been long disused, and it seems as though it was decided that those adventures with Batwoman and Bat-Girl took place in a parallel universe on Earth-2. The character of Bette Kane was later created, a tennis champion as a young teenager, a young beauty pageant winner to rival any Tots & Tiaras star, an Olympic level swimmer and acrobat, trained in many martial art forms, an experienced sky diver, wind sailer, and mountain climber. All that, and the only prize she couldn't win was catching the eye of the original Robin, Dick Grayson. She ended up creating the identity of Flamebird and set out to get Robin's attention by becoming a crime fighter. Eventually, she joined the Teen Titans West and was an auxiliary member of the Titans throughout the years. My favorite Flamebird moment occurred during the 1998 JLA vs. Titans miniseries by Devin Grayson & the LEGENDARY Phil Jimenez, when trapped in an illusion of her perfect world, her fantasy was playing a game of tennis against Robin in his original short-shorts/short cape costume, and watching him bend over - over and over - to pick up the ball. Bless her heart.

Flamebird received a bit of a makeover in the Batwoman title when she wanted to serve as a sidekick to her cousin, Kate Kane, who is Batwoman. Bette ended up taking up the new identity of Hawkfire. It's a terrible name, especially because DC has long had a character named Firehawk in its Firestorm stories, but Hawkfire did have a great costume which the chest symbol in this outfit is lifted from and the gold layered bracelet inspired by the gauntlets on that costume. The rest of the outfit is inspired by her two Flamebird costumes, the original containing a tennis skirt and color homages to the original red and green Bat-Girl costume. Her character's history and portrayal contains a level of camp that endears this character deeply in my heart. It's a real shame she isn't used more in comics.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Flamebird" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Flamebird ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Artemis

This is the 25th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

At the time of this posting, the Delta Variant of the COVID-19 virus is posing a real threat upon the world. It is even more contagious than previous iterations of the virus, and the World Health Organization recommends mask wearing regardless of vaccination status.

If this writing had an audio option, this is where I would cue up Mariah Carey saying, "And now for the deluxe." This entry is one of the last six entries in this series that I had planned and considered "bonus material" of "deep cut" characters. Artemis of the Bana Mighdall Amazons was created in the mid 1990's, thus she's a redhead with an impossibly long flowing ponytail that never seems to hinder her in her adventures. The Bana Mighdall tribe of Amazons had split off from the Themiscyran Amazons thousands of years ago, before they were lead to Paradise Island. The Bana's (as they became known) were unwilling to give up their desire for revenge against men. Eventually, they ended up settling in Egypt and developed a worship of some Egyptians gods, who erected a mystical sandstorm around their city of Bana Mighdall (which translated to "The Temple of Women"). The Banas became a very warrior-like and violent tribe, adopting modern weapons and kidnapping men to use as breeding stock. Their tribe's champion was call Shim'Tar. As Artemis grew, her best friend and love, Akila, competed against Artemis for the right to become Shim'Tar, but Akila ended up winning that title before eventually meeting her death. Eventually, the Banas agreed to help the evil sorceress Circe attack the Themiscyran Amazons. Artemis was 14 at the time and was the only Amazon who protested the decision before the Bana Council. They should have listened, because they were betrayed by Circe, and all Amazons were cast into a demon dimension where the two tribes were forced to join forces fighting off demon hordes for ten years.

Eventually, Wonder Woman convinced Circe to return the Amazons to their own dimension. However, Queen Hippolyta began having visions of Wonder Woman dying, so she arranged to have a new Contest for the title of Wonder Woman and she secretly had the Amazon sorceress Magala cast a spell that siphoned Diana's powers off to Artemis when they were near each other. This caused Diana to lose the Contest, and Artemis won and became the new Wonder Woman for a time. Artemis was brash and had no patience for complex situations and problems that she blamed Diana for not fixing in the world. Her time as Wonder Woman was short, as she ended up dying fighting the White Magician. With her last breath, she gave Diana the Gauntlet of Hermes, which she used to increase her strength, thus giving Diana the power that she needed to defeat the White Magician. Since it's comic books, Artemis ended up returning from the dead, and she maintains an uneasy and sometimes slightly antagonistic relationship with Diana. Currently, the Bana Mighdall are back to being based in Egypt, and Artemis, seems to be their champion, or at least a trusted agent, as she is currently appearing in the new Wonder Girl title.

This look pulls mostly from Artemis' current "DC Rebirth" costume, which in itself is a black, red, and gold rework of her Requiem costume, a look she wore when she was first resurrected and joined a group of demon hunters. the footwear is a callback to her time wearing the Wonder Woman costume. Her mask pattern is a variant on the theme that the other Wonder Woman characters in this series have featured.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece. 
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Artemis" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Artemis ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Katana

This is the 24th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Tatsu Yamashiro is a Japanese immigrant to the United States who fights evil and injustice as the sword-wielding Katana. Once, Tatsu was a happily married wife and mother in Japan, until her husband's Yakuza-involved brother killed him with an enchanted sword called the Soultaker, which ended up possessing the soul of her husband, Maseo. Her family killed, Tatsu trained under a samurai master, and took her skills to the United States. She ended up joining a group called The Outsiders, created by Batman as a more proactive team than the Justice League. Katana has been on many teams, including the Justice League, the Birds of Prey, and the Suicide Squad. Her martial arts skills along with her Soultaker sword (which can capture the souls of those she slays with it) make her a formidable member of any team she's been a part of, though the Outsiders is the one she is affiliated with the most.

For this look, Katana has had many costume designs throughout the years. Many of the costumes have incorporated elements of the Japanese national and military flags, so I chose to reflect some of those here. I also really have enjoyed including armor pieces with dresses in this series, and this design was another great opportunity. For her facial features, I used Karen Fukuhara as my inspiration, who played the character in the movie, Suicide Squad, but with a mask that covered the upper half of her face. I'm also really glad to be able to post this illustration during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in the United States.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Katana" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Katana ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Starfire

This is the 23rd entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Starfire is a warrior princess, Koriand'r, from the planet of Tamaran. Her people have the ability to absorb ultra violet light and convert it into energy that gives them the power to fly...which was used as a reason by the character's creators to justify why she and most of her people wear very little clothing. The more skin they expose, the more energy that they can absorb. (Insert side-eye here. I've yet to see Superman fly around half naked, when his powers work on largely the same principle.) She was trained in combat, but also ended up being given to brutal aliens by her family as a peace offering in hopes that they wouldn't be conquered. She and her older sister, Blackfire (Komand'r), were experimented on in captivity, which lead to them being able to project energy blasts called starbolts. Eventually, Koriand'r escaped, made her way to Earth, she demonstrated another of her powers: the ability to absorb language through kissing. She kissed Robin (as in "Batman and...") upon her arrival, and the two ended up in a relationship quickly. She also quickly became a member of the New Teen Titans.

Her relationship with Dick Grayson, the first Robin and now Nightwing, seems to be an on-again, off-again phenomenon, usually based upon which group of fans the comic book editors want to please: the fans who want Dick Grayson and Koriand'r as a couple or the fans who want Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon, Batgirl, to be a couple. Currently, Starfire is the head of Titans Academy, where the older twenty-something Titans are training empowered and/or skilled teens how to be heroes.

For the look in this illustration, I pulled mainly from Starfire's current costume that debuted in the Justice League Odessey series and her original costume from the Marv Wolfman & George Perez runs of The New Teen Titans. The current costume features big armored shoulder pads with jewels, and I thought it'd be fun to turn those armored pieces into decorative epaulets. Her earrings are inspired by the design of a pendant from the original costume. The sandals are also inspired by the original costume's boots. Her incredibly long hair and gravity defying abilities lend to creating a wonderful shape around her where her hair can float, almost like she's under water.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Starfire" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Starfire ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Raven

This is the 22nd entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Raven, also known as Rachel Roth, is the daughter of a human woman named Arella and a world-conquering demon named Trigon. She was raised by monks to help her control her emotions, lest they overcome her and she opened the dimensional door to allow Trigon back to conquer the world. Raven originally brought the Teen Titnas back together again in the 1980's to fight Trigon. Raven is an empath who also has many other powers, including flight, magic, and sending her consciousness about in a form called her "soul self." Eventually, with the help of the Titans, Raven defeats her father, Trigon, and is currently a respeced senior member of the Titans.

Raven has had many looks since she was first created in the 1980's by Marv Wolfman & George Perez for The New Teen Titans. Her original look was basically an evening dress, opera gloves and a hooded cloak. Over the years, Raven would get various other looks. When the character appeared in the Teen Titans cartoon with grayish skin and violet hair, visual elements from that design began showing up in the comic books. I tried to come up with a look that incorporates various designs the character has featured into this look.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Raven" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Raven ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Donna Troy

This is the 20th and 21st entries that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Donna Troy is a beloved superhero. As the first Wonder Girl (not counting Wonder Woman herself as a girl), Donna Troy was a member of the Teen Titans. Donna Troy has ha SEVERAL headache-inducing origins throughout her decades existence, but her original is really the best, simplest, and easiest to understand. She was an orphaned baby/toddler, rescued by Wonder Woman from a burning building, taken to Paradise Island/Themiscyra to heal, and in the process was imbued with Amazon abilities. She was then raised by Queen Hippolyta as an adopted daughter and sister to Wonder Woman - and became a sidekick of sorts. Sadly, we got precious rare actual printed material of Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl actually working together. It was more a thing that was talked about than ever shown. And that's a real shame. As Wonder Girl, Donna had a lot of the same powers as Wonder Woman, but not as much. She even had a lasso as well. Donna's first Wonder Girl outfit consisted of star spangled short-shorts, and a red chiton with a golden eagle emblazoned on the chest and the neck and armholes trimmed with a gold pattern that homaged a Greek key pattern She also had red lace up sandals like Wonder Woman did in the 1950s and 60s. But that changed in the 70s, and Wonder Girl got a new full-bodied star spangled red catsuit with a "w" shaped buckle on her golden belt, a golden eagle necklace around her neck, and a long hairdo, aging her up from the teeny bopper pony tail look that she had been sporting.

My take on Donna Troy is a big send up to her first red catsuit Wonder Girl costume, while using the plunging neckline of her more famous version of that costume that George Perez created for The New Teen Titans. It also references Debra Winger's Wonder Girl costume from the ABC season of the 1970s Lynda Carter Wonder Woman television show with the wrap aspect and the stars on the left side of the chest that are virtually the same color as the dress. I also wanted to visually reference the latter starfield pattern that would show up in Donna's later costumes, that always read as sparkly sequins or beads to me, that created a starfield look.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Donna Troy" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Donna Troy and Wonder Girl ©DC Comics 

Reality shifted in the comic books, as they seem to do, and Wonder Woman was rebooted as being younger and just arriving to Patriarch's World. At the same time, New Teen Titans was one of DC's big selling titles, and they didn't want to start over from scratch there, so Donna's origins tying her to Wonder Woman were replaced to being rescued by the Greek Titans of myth, and trained and empowered by them...ad then she just happens to call herself Wonder Girl and wear a Wonder Woman-like costume years before Diana shows up as Wonder Woman...And many "fixes" would appear in the comics to try to make that work. When her connection to the Titans of myth was reveled, she received a new costume (the first with the starfield) and a new hero identity, Troia. Her Troia costumes were dominated by the black starfield, and after a while, silver accessories, as opposed to gold. This second version of her look is the Troia version.

From the hair to the dress and shoes, I was also inspired by singer/songwriter Dua Lipa for this look. Dua Lipa embodies the aura of a young twety-something, vibrant, fashionable, and independent woman, and I feel that Donna Troy is that as well.

Thank you for taking the time to experience these pieces.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Donna Troy 2" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Donna Troy and Troia © DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Batwoman

This is the 19th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Not to be confused with Batgirl, Batwoman is Kate Kane, DC Comics' most prominent gay and Jewish superhero. Kate Kane's father, Jacob Kane, is the brother of Martha Kane, who married Thomas Wayne and gave birth to Bruce Wayne, Batman. I assume Kate's mother, Gabrielle, was Jewish. When Kate was twelve, terrorists kidnapped Gabrielle, Kate, and her twin sister, Beth. There was a rescue attempt, and Kate was supposedly the only member of her family to survive it. That left her traumatized. She followed in her father's footsteps of going into the military, but was discharged under Don't Ask, Don't Tell. After kicking around the globe a little, she trained under her father and was inspired by Batman to become the crime fighting Batwoman. And surprise, her twin sister Beth was somehow alive and became her arch enemy named Alice, which also lead to a falling out with her father. Kate has had some great romances in the comics, including Renee Montoya and Maggie Sawyer, both women who work in police forces, both established characters in the comics. By day, Kate is a "socialite," but by night, she fights crime and monsters as Batwoman.

Kate Kane has had some great looks in her civilian identity, some dresses, and even an iconic Marlena Dietrich-esque tuxedo look. I wanted to create a look that would easily fit among all of the dresses and skirts in this series, but also pay homage to the tuxedo look as well. Hence this dressy black and red onsie. Kate Kane was also a fan of a smokey eye makeup look, so far be it for me to stray from that. 

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Batwoman" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Batwoman ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Barda of the New Gods

This is the 18th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Barda is one of the New Gods characters created by Jack Kirby in the early 1970's. There were two planets, a nice one called New Genesis, ruled by High Father, and a hellscape planet called Apokolips, ruled by Darkseid. Barda was born on Apokolips and raised in and groomed by the sadistic Granny Goodness in one of her orphanages. Barda became the leader of an elite team of terrifying female warriors called the New Female Furies. However, she ended up falling in love with a man who also grew up in the orphanage and became an expert escape artist, Scott Free. The two of them escaped together, and learned that Scott was actually the son of High Father, traded to Darkseid for peace. The two of them settled on earth and operate as superheroes and Scott also as the escape artist performer, Mr. Miracle. The two of them have worked with the Justice League, and Barda with the Birds of Prey occasionally. It wasn't until her appearance in Birds of Prey that I really warmed up to Barda, when it was pointed out that the weapon Barda uses, her megarod, looks like a golden adult toy. I really fell in love with Barda and Scott Free in the Eisner Award Winning Mister Miracle maxi series by Tom King & Mitch Gerads, which really explores the PTSD and trauma Scott and Barda carry with them from growing up in a brutal and violent and pschologically terrorizing environment.

This illustration is a special entry in this series, because it was created in collaboration with the uber talented Kristina Sunshine, a professional makeup artist and lead singer of the band, Bullseye Womprats. Kristina came up with the makeup design for this illustration of Barda specifically for this look and also served as the model for Barda's facial features. Kristina is one of the most talented and hard-working people I've ever met in my life. Legend has it that Barda was originally inspired by Lanie Kazan from her Playboy Magazine shoot around the time the New Gods were created, so I definitely wanted to give Barda a fuller figure in respect to that origin. The look was a really delicious challenge, because Barda's look is a really BUSY design. There's two shades of blue along with red, yellow, and black. When I first encountered the character, I couldn't tell if the big helmet that she wore was a helmet or her hair. There was SO MUCH going on. In light of that first impression, I knew that for my take, her hair needed to be really big to pay homage to the helmet that she wears. The first costume that Barda appeared in was basically a red bikini with a headband that looked like little strung-together gold coins or disks. Although her hair covers most of them, the red straps from that outfit are incorporated into this design, as well as the disks. Barda's usual costume has a blue scale mail base, and I used it for inspiration for her jewelry, with pieces of scale mail as her earrings, necklace, and bracelets. It was an absolute joy and honor to be able to collaborate with my dear friend on this. I offer a huge THANK YOU to Kristina Sunshine for her invaluable contributions!

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Barda of the New Gods" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
Illustration ©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Photograph ©2021 Kristina Sunshine. Used with Permission
Barda ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Catwoman

This is the 17th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Catwoman is a character that revels in her independence. And while she does enjoy a liberal amount of independence from other people, she still needs others and lives in a society that affects her. Catwoman was created in the 1940's to be a villain, but the character really hasn't been portrayed consistently as a villain in around thirty years. Currently, she's practically Mrs. Batman. And while she's known for her expertise at breaking and entering, she's also a formidable hand-to-hand combat opponent. She's always exhibited admiral qualities worth emulating. I should know. In high school, I wrote a thirteen page research paper on why Catwoman was a positive role model. And yes, I did get an A grade on it.

For my take, I took influences from several different looks Catwoman has had throughout the years. For many years, starting in the 1940's, her costume consisted of a purple dress with slits in the skirt and a green cape. In the 1960's, the Batman TV show happened, and she went through a couple different looks before circling back to the purple dress and green cape look in the 1970's, just with a longer skirt and cape, higher boots, and a deeper cut in the decolletage. The purple dress with splits here defeinitely pays homage to that look. Instead of a green cape, I utilized green jewelry to introduce that color into the design. The purple I used was a warmer purple, closer to the color used in her 1990's costume. The corset is a take on the corset worn by Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman in the movie Batman Returns. The lace-up sandal boots also nod to that costume. The cat ears on her head are a nod to the Catwoman costume from the 1966 Batman TV series, embellished with black diamonds here. The haircut and makeup are inspired by early designs by Joelle Jones during her run on the Catwoman comic book.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Catwoman" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Catwoman ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Lois Lane

This is the 16th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

In the past few years in the United States, certain superheroes have come to mean more to me because of the particular ideals and values that they stand for. For instance, while the President of the country had an enormous history of spouting misogynist speech, Wonder Woman, a hero who stands for the empowerment of women especially, became even more important to me. Likewise, as that same President continued to spew a mountain of provable lies and call members of the free press enemies of the people, the character Lois Lane meteorically rose in importance to me. Reporters like Julie K. Brown, who did most of the leg work on the Jeffrey Epstein story, and Victoria Brownworth, an independent reporter whose work advocates for truth and justice are real treasures to our society. I see in Lois Lane the same spirit that these women have, and that is a relentless search for the truth and commitment to exposing the powerful who prey, exploit, and harm those with less power. That's what superheroes do, and that's why Lois Lane deserves to stand alongside the other heroines of the DC Universe.

A lot of thought went into creating this look for Lois Lane, which is, I believe, the first time that I've ever really drawn her. It's ridiculous that it's takine me this long to do that. The color purple has become associated with Lois Lane in the last few years, and since purple is my favorite color, of course I was going to use it. Ever since Superman: The Animated Series, Lois Lane has frequently been depicted having violet eyes. I did not want to deviate from that detail that provides more purple to the experience. Details were important, so she has a wedding ring on her finger to visually show her marriage to Clark Kent/Superman. She has lovely "S" symbol earrings to also nod to her status as a member of the "Superman Family." And her mask has a Logo for the Daily Planet on it. For the dress, I imagined that it would be a dress that could be worn to the office in the day along with a jacket or sweater, and then by itself for a fancier red carpet look. I love the pairing of the light lilac purple with rose gold, and gave her a matching phone, which I see so many reporters use nowadays as their recording devices. Her hair is a fresh long bob with a little wave to it. It's nice, but you know she doesn't have a lot of time to spend on her hair - not even for special occasions. I wanted to show that this is a woman who doesn't have the advantage of having super speed to help her manage her busy schedule. It's also a call back to one of my favorite portrayals of Lois Lane, Terri Hatcher on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Lois Lane" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Lois Lane ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Hawkgirl

This is the 15th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Hawkgirl is one of those characters who had been burdened with a complicated origin for decades - until recently. Her origin is tied to Hawkman's. In another life, Hawkman was an evil guy doing bad things for an evil godlike being. Then he fell in love with an angel and changed his ways. The angel was punished for falling in love with a mortal and fell from Heaven. As penance for his deeds, Hawkman would reincarnate across time and space until he could make restitution for what he had done. The angel would incarnate alongside with him as his soulmate. Pretty easy so far. The two would incarnate, be intensely drawn together, and oftentimes die an early death in trying to do good. 

And then along comes Hawkgirl. Because the souls are incarnating throughout time AND space, the angel incarnates twice at the same time - one as a woman named Shayera Thal (the red-headed Hawkwoman) on the planet of Thanagar, and second as a woman named Kendra Saunders on earth. Kendra is Latina and formally lead an elite squadron of pilots called the Blackhawks that had its origins in WWII. However, because she's incarnating twice during the same time period, the romantic soulmate draw to Hawkman doesn't seem to exist with Hawkgirl (Hawkwoman has that covered). She's now left to explore herself in a lifetime completely untethered to Hawkman. So far, it seems she and J'onn J'onnz, the Martian Manhunter, have developed feelings for each other.

For her look, I was inspired by red carpet music awards looks by Christina Aguilera, and mixing that kind influence in with the crazy costume design that Hawkgirl has had through the years. Her Hawkgirl look was created in the early 1940's and modelled off of Hawkman's look, so that's why there are SO MANY COLORS in it. And like with Supergirl and Power Girl in this series, I'm really interested in using pinks and magentas in the design instead of red and dark reds. The top is an homage to the harness that Hawkman wears as part of his costume, and as Hawkgirl's costume often features a bare midriff, I opted to continue that design element into this look.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Hawkgirl" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Hawkgirl ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Power Girl

This is the 14th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Power Girl is not a household name superhero, but when I tell you about her, you'll feel like you already know her. Power Girl is Kara Zor-L, the "Supergirl" of Earth-2. Remember how Supergirl's rocket arrived later than Superman's by mistake? Well Power Girl's arrived even later, and I guess something didn't go 100% with the suspended animation, because she arrived pretty grown and also *gasp* had ideas of her own. She refused to be defined by Superman, so instead of calling herself Supergirl and wearing his symbol, she called herself Power Girl and left her chest devoid of the S-shield. In her civilian identity as Karen Starr (Yes, a white woman named Karen with short hair - she was created in the 70's. It's not her fault.), she owns her own tech company. As Power Girl, she basically has all of the same powers as Superman. Operating on Earth-2, she was a member of the Justice Society of America (JSA), and was a close friend of the daughter of Batman & Catwoman, the Huntress. Whether on Earth-2 or Earth-1, Power Girl is always a force to be reckoned with.

I really enjoyed working on this design. Originally, I was going to give her a sleevelesss look with a turtle-neck, but I had also been wanting to do a asymmetrical shoulder look for this series, and when I realized that would mimick the line of the rope that her cape is attached to that cuts across her chest on her superhero costume, it seemed like the perfect choice. I also was inspired by the loincloth style skirt that she wore in her appearance as Power Woman in the Kingdom Come series by Mark Waid and Alex Ross. I also really like her haircut, because I think it's sexy and youthful while being much shorter than how I've depicted Power Girl in my artwork in the past. I think it suits her perfectly. The charms on her bracelet also contain some "Easter Eggs," like an Earth-2 Superman symbol, and Aquaman symbol alluding to her Post-Crisis origin as the grand-daughter of ancient Atlantian sorceror, Arion, and a Harley Quinn diamond because Amanda Connor & Jimmy Palmiotti wrote & drew a wonderful Power Girl series and they also have had her interact with Harley Quinn as a friend during their handling of Harley's stories. Also, since working on my Supergirl design and realizing during that work that the color pink is almost NEVER used on DC Heroines, I couldn't pass up the chance to turn what is traditionally red on her costume into a magenta and bring in the pink to a really fun eye makeup look.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Power Girl" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Power Girl ©DC Comics 

Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Zatanna

This is the 13th entry that I've posted in the series featuring "red carpet" takes on superheroes in costume with masks to promote the pro-social & pro-health practice of mask wearing during a pandemic.

Zatanna is a powerful magic wielding member of the Justice League, currently operating in the magaical division known as Justice League Dark. She was raised by her father, Giovanni 'John' Zatara, a stage magician who actually performed real feats of magic. Her mother was named Sindella, and was from a race of magical humans called Homo Magi, which totally sounds like the name of a bar for gay witches. Since DC Comics hates it when women have a relationship with their mothers if their name isn't Wonder Woman, Sindella faked her death to leave her daughter and husband to go live with the Homo Magi again. (Insert eye roll here.) Zatanna, like her father, is a stage illusionist who usues actual magic. She usually performs spells by saying the words backward (phoenetically, not backwards sentence word order). He stage outfit is usually similar to a stage magician's outfit, a tuxedo (often with a top hat) but substituting fishnet stockings for a pair of slacks. In recet years, her costume has been less formal, and consisting of things like pleather pants, a boustier, and a trenchcoat with some fishnet gloves. Also exciting, the recently announced plans to make a Zatanna solo movie. My hope is that it will rely heavily on the 2003 graphic novel Zatanna: Everyday Magic.

For this design, I wanted to allude to elements of a tuxedo, but instead of short shorts, to include a skirt to dress it up. The skirt shape is inspired by the silhouette of the skirt that RuPaul wore in the Supermodel music video and maxi single cover. And while the tuxedo/fishnets costume is more most well-known look, I've always been a fan of George Perez's "superhero sorceress" costume from the 1980's that was blue, white, and black with red accessory elements. I've borrowed elements from that look to include in this one. For this design, I wanted the boustier to allude to a tuxedo shirt.

Thank you for taking the time to experience this piece.
"Masks Are Fashion, Masks Are Heroic - Zatanna" by Kevenn T. Smith
Pencil, Ink, Photoshop
©2021 Kevenn T. Smith
Zatanna ©DC Comics